Portable passing-switch for railroads



2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

(No Model.)

A. J. MOXI-IAM.

PORTABLE PASSING SWITCH FOR RAI'LROADS.,

I n'venZbr Patented Dec. 25, 1888.

2 sheets sneetz.

Patented Dec. 25, 1888.

w m M (No Model.)

A. J. M-OXHAM. I I PORTABLE PASSING SWITCH FOR RAILROADS witness es.-

N PETERS. Phuloliflwgnpha Washinglun, 0.0.

the preceding figure.

Ihvrrnn STATES PATENT Quince.

ARTHUR .I. MOXIIAM, OF JOHNSTOIVN, PENNSYLVANIA.

PORTABLE PASSING-SWITCH FOR RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,249, dated December 25, 1888.

Application filed August 15,1887. Serial No. 246,926. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR .T. Moxnan, of .Iohnstown, in the county of. Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Portable Passing-Switch for Railroads, which invention is fully set forth and illustrated in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide a portable passing-switchthat is, a switch for connecting the same track-rails, (as, for instance, for passing around some temporary obstruction of said rails,) not a switch for connecting two lines of track.

The invention consists in the parts and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and particularly set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates in plan the switch complete, the main rails of the track being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 shows in plan an enlarged view of the switch-piece, indicated in Fig. 1 by the letter A, as therein connected to one main rail and one switch-rail. Fig. 3 illustrates in side elevation one main rail and the switchpiece A in vertical longitudinal section superposed thereon, said section being taken through the line 00 :0 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 illustrates an enlarged transverse sect-ion of the parts shown in Fig. 2, taken at the line E E of said figure, looking to the left. 5 illustrates an enlarged transverse section of the parts shown in Fig. 2, taken at the line F F of said figure, looking to the left. Fig. 6 illustrates in plan, enlarged, the frog, indicated in Fig. 1 by the letter 0, attached to its contiguous rails. Fig. 7 illustrates in side elevation one main rail and the frog 0 in vertical longitudinal section superposed thereon, said section being taken at the line y y of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 illustrates in plan, enlarged, the jointpiece, indicated by the letter (2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 9 illustrates in side elevation the joint-piece c and the rail upon which it is superposed in Fig. 10 illustrates an enlarged transx .rse section of the parts shown in Figs. 8 and 9, taken at the line L L, passed through the said figures. Fig. 11 illustrates an enlarged transverse section of the parts shown in Figs. 8 and 9, taken at the line M M, passed through said figures.

In said figures the several parts are indicated by letters of reference by means of which the invention will now be fully described, like letters indicating like parts in the several figures.

The letter A indicates a thrown over switch, the cars, coming in the direction indieated by the arrow, being thrown to the right. Said switch-piece A is made out of a flat plate grooved, as at c e, to permit of the passage of the car-wheel flanges, the treads of the wheels running on the part G and the flanges through said grooves e e. The ends of the switch-piece are tapered, as shown at f f, Fig. 3, inorder to easily lift the wheels of the passing car from the rails to and upon said switch-piece.

The switch-pieceAis called a thrown-oven switch piece, because it is so constructed as to throw a car (approaching in a straight line in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1) to the right, and said piece is always provided with a stationary tongue, as J; but, if desired in this invention, a switclrpiece having a movable tongue may be substituted therefor, or any other type of switclrpiece may be used, so long as the principle of fiat construction, as in the switch-piece herein shown, is carried out. It is obvious that a car approaching in the opposite direction will keep the straight track, the wheel-fianges entering the groove 6 atj, guarded by the portion 9 and the treads of the wheels running on the opposite side of the tongue J, (indicated by the letter G, Fig. 2.)

The letter a indicates the fellow piece or mate to the thrown-or er-switch piece A, and is constructed in the same manner.'

The letter B indicates a plate termed the run-off, and 1') another plate termed the run-off mate, each of said plates being constructed, respectively, similar to the plates A and a, just described.

In Figs. 2 and 5 is illustrated the method of connecting the portable switch-rails to the main rails, the letter H indicating the form of the rail used in the curved parts of the switch. Said rail H is let into a pocket or recess provided in the switch-pieces, and is secured thereto by recessed bolts having T-heads T. These said joints are indicated in Fig. 1 at the points V V. Similar joints are used to connect the frogs C C to their respective rails, as shown more in detail in Fig. 6. These frogs are made of flat plate, grooved, as at e e,

to permit of the passage of the wheel-flanges therethrough, the treads of the wheels run-.

ning on the portions of said frog marked G Said grooves e 6 cross each other at the point indicated by the letter K, Figs. 6 and 7, and said frog is beveled at its ends, as shown at the points k 76, to lift the car-wheels, for the same reason given for beveling the ends of the switch-piece A.

The ends of the grooved rail forming one passing-switch rail are united to the frog 0, as shown at H I-I,bybolts similar to the bolts T, hereinbefore described. The under part of said frog 0 is grooved to lie over the head at the main-track rails D, as indicated in plan, respectively in Figs. 1 and 6. Said main rails D are illustrated as center-bearing girderrails; but they may be of any type or shape of rail Whatever,whether center-bearing or side-bearing, and either girder-rails or stringer track-rails.

Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 illustrate details, e11- larged, of the joint-pieces indicated by the letters 0 in Fig. 1. The letter R indicates the head or part of the joint-piece on which the treads of the car-wheels run; N, the groove for the passage therethrough of the wheelflanges, and P the guard portion of the jointpiece, both said head and guard portion having side lapping lugs, t t.

In Figs. 8, 9, and 10 one part of the jointpiece 0 is shown riveted by rivets on through its head R to the end of one switch-rail, H; and in Figs. 8, 9, and 11 the other part of said joint-piece is shown bolted by T-head bolts 0 to the abutting end of the other portion of the switclrrail H. In Fig. 9 said joint-piece is shown beveled, as indicated at the points 13 p, to elevate the car-wheels, for the purpose similar to that already described for the switch-pieces A and frog 0.

In Fig. 4 the under side of the switclrpiece A is shown fiat, as at IV \V; but, if desired all of said pieces, the frog 0, and the matepieces can be recessed underneath, so as to fit well over the rcail-beLl pavement; but ordinarily this will not be necessary.

I am aware that portable connecting-tracks have been suggested on double-track roads, which united said tracks, so that an uptrack could be converted into a downtrack, and vice versa; but the advantages secured by this invention are applicable tosingle tracks and permit of quickly increasing their capacity for travel by enabling the cars to be run at shorter intervals, when desired, as well as to run around temporary obstructions. In the construction of single-track roads the location of passing switches determines the headway of or intervals between the cars dispatched. \Vith permanently-constructed or located passing-switches this headway of cars can only be varied within small limits by increasing or decreasing the speed of the cars. It is, however, often the case that some popular attraction along the line of the road would make it a source of profit to run the cars under quicker headway on some one portion of the line than on others. Thus also in case of a heavy excursion business so brought about, or on a holiday, it would often be largely advantageous to run a quicker headway of cars over the whole line. All of these advantages can be secured in singletrack roads by laying this portable switch on either one or both sides of the track at numerous desired intervals,whether temporarily obstructed at any point or point-s or not, and thus the road may be continued in operation with but little or no delay under much shorter headway of cars and at an increased earrying capacity.

It will be observed that the joint-pieces c are not expansion-joints, there being no occasion to so construct them in order to meet the different distances apart of the trackrails were the track double instead of single. It will be observed, also, that in this passingswitch connecting only two parts of a single track only the switch-pieces and frogs and mate pieces lie on the rails of the main track, the switch-rails uniting only to said pieces and not lapping the main rails of the track, unlike arrangement-s heretofore provided in portable tracks for double-track roads, in

which whole lengths of the switch-rails are required to lie over and upon the main rails of each respective track in addition to the special joint-pieces or keepers uniting the portable rails to the permanent rails. No keepers are used in this invention, grooves only being employed to bring into close union the several contiguous and abuttingparts of the structure.

It will be noted that the joint-pieces 0, forming permanent joints with the port-able rails, differ from the expansion-joints shown in my pending application, Serial No. 239,606, filed May 28, 1887, in the provisions in this case of aguard, P, and side lugs, t 1%.

The use of this invention does not demand the slightest disturbance of the road-bed, and the whole structure is light, compact, and easily put together, and capable of being quickly adjusted.

Having thus fully described my said portable passing-switch as of my invention, I claim 1. In a portable passing-switch, a jointpiece, as 0, having a groove therein for carwheel flanges, a head, as R, a guard, as P, side lugs, as t t, and beveled ends, as p 19, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A portable passing-switch provided with end switch-pieces and intermediate frogs recessed to secure flush joints with the switchrails and grooved to connect said switch-rails to the main rails of the track, substantially as set forth.

ARTHUR .T. MOXHAM.

\Vi tn esses:

TOM L. JoHNsoN, A. v. DU Ponr. 

